Why?
by Undead Author
Summary: The day after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and Harry confront the girls who’ve been on their minds. RonxHermione, HarryxGinny, NevillexLuna


**A/N: The day after the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and Harry confront the girls who've been on their minds.**

**Wanna read and review? Really? Thanks!**

"A turning point in wizarding history" was how Arthur Weasley put it, and a turning point it was. Indeed, it seemed that life before this day was just getting them prepared for it, and afterward they'd never again quite experience how they felt.

Harry was the most wanted person in the world, and though he'd enjoyed it a little at first, now he was just tired and wanted to get away from the attention. He wanted to talk to his friends, his _real_ friends, not Romilda Vane and her giggling company. He looked longingly at a group of teenagers about fifty feet away from him. Neville Longbottom was hardly recognizable, not because he had several wounds and cuts to the face, but because he was roaring with laughter, along with Luna Lovegood, at something Ron Weasley had said. Harry had never seen Neville so happy and it was a pleasant change. Hermione Granger was nowhere to be seen, and Harry guessed she was just using the bathroom or something.

Growing tired of how Romilda kept trying to get him to compliment her hair, he edged away from her slowly. "I, er, have to, ah… go do… yeah," was his articulate explanation for abandoning her in the middle of a sentence.

When he made his way to the throng of people who wanted to talk to him, all of whom he ignored, he sighed. "You've no idea how badly I want to get out of here, honestly," he muttered to Neville, Luna, and Ron.

Ron shrugged. "Then let's go. Mum and Dad were planning on having a party for just our friends at the Burrow tonight anyway, and if we leave now it'll just start sooner."

At this Luna sighed. Ron looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just wouldn't enjoy being here with just Neville. I mean, he's a good friend—really, you are— but besides you three, Hermione, and Ginny, I don't really have any friends." There it was: Luna's flair for pointing out things that not only made everyone uncomfortable, they were also usually true.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You thought you two weren't coming? Luna, you and Neville are better friends with Ron and me than three-quarters of Hogwarts. Of course you're coming."

Luna smiled brightly and Neville spluttered in his excitement, "Let me j—just tell my Gram and I'll be on my way, H—Harry!" Harry was pleased to see them both so happy.

But Luna had said something about Ginny and this distracted him. He turned to Ron. "Have you seen Ginny?" he asked, but Ron shook his head.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Ron asked him in return.

Harry shrugged. "I thought she was in the bathroom, but, you know, I can't exactly go in there to confirm it."

Ron snorted. "Yeah, like a bathroom being for girls has ever stopped us from going into it." This made Harry laugh.

Molly Weasley appeared beside him. Harry was slightly disturbed to see her eyes were puffy and her face was slightly wet. He guessed she had been crying because of her lost son. His heart hurt to see her so distraught. She put her arms around the boys' shoulders and squeezed them. "I'm _so_ proud of you boys," she said for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Ron rolled his eyes and shrugged his mother off, but lovingly.

"Hey, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, looking at Luna and Neville asking their guardians if they could come to the Weasley's party. "Can Neville and Luna come to your party tonight? They're our friends, and—"

He was silenced by her patting his cheek and declaring, "Of course, dear, of course, I'm offended you'd even ask! Any friend of yours and Ron's is a friend of ours." She nodded her head definitively, as if Harry or Ron would argue her decision.

Ron groaned and mouthed the word 'sorry' at Harry once his mother walked away to talk to Neville's grandmother. Harry shrugged. "It's okay, she's your mom."

Luna tapped Ron on his shoulder and said, "My father says it's alright if I come to your party, but only if you don't have any freshwater plimpies. But," she added, "If so, I have repellent." She pulled a bright green bottle out of her giant carpet bag. She must have bottled it herself, for there was no label on it.

Ron fought the urge to laugh as he said, "Er, no, Luna, I think our house is… plimpy free."

Luna shrugged and placed the bottle back in her bag, "just in case". Her eyes brightened and she smiled. "Oh, look, there's Hermione and Ginny," she said, and Ron and Harry turned their heads so quickly Harry thought he heard a cricking noise.

"We're all here now, then?" Luna asked, but neither Harry nor Ron heard her. Ginny was talking to Hermione, who looked like she had been crying.

Ron frowned and headed toward the corner that the girls were occupying, but Ginny stopped him and said something that made him frown more. He tried to get around her, but she said loudly enough for Harry to hear, "Shove off, Ron! This is none of your business!"

Once Ron had returned beside Harry, he muttered, "She says Hermione doesn't want to talk to me."

"Sounds like your business to me," Harry said, and Ron nodded.

As the two of them stared after the two girls exiting the dining hall, Mr. Weasley appeared in front of them. "Well, boys, it seems the action's all gone here, so why don't we head back to the Burrow, eh?"

Ron nodded distractedly and Harry said, "Sounds good, Mr. Weasley."

xoxoxo

Harry had to admit, but for the Hogwarts feasts, he had never had such amazing food. Bill and Fleur had set loose three or four jarfuls of fairies, which had nested in the trees, so it looked like there were stars in their leaves. There was music playing that came from nowhere, but it made everyone want to dance… except Hermione. She was sitting beneath a large tree, looking off wistfully into the distance with Ginny sitting besides her rubbing her shoulder. Ron was too focused on her to really be much fun.

Luna, Neville, and the rest of the Weasley family didn't notice her absence, which was a statement in itself, but Harry had. He smiled at Luna, who was telling him a story, and said, "I'll be right back, alright, Luna?" She nodded.

He walked over to where Hermione and Ginny were and squatted next to them. "Hey, Hermione… are you okay? Everyone's asking if you're sick." That was a lie, but she didn't necessarily have to know that.

She sighed and looked up at him. "That's really very nice of you, Harry, but I'm fine. Really." She attempted a weak smile, and as he stood Harry raised his eyebrows at Ginny, who averted her eyes.

"Alright… if you say so…" he said uncertainly.

"I say so."

Harry made his way over to Ron. "She still won't talk about anything."

Ron shook his head. "If I could get her alone—"

"Are you sure you want to think about that? I'd bet my Chocolate Frog card collection that she knows an _excellent_ Jelly-Legs jinx."

Ron's face hardened. "I'm willing to take the chance. Hey, Harry, could you try to get Ginny away from Hermione so I can talk to her?"

Harry's mind raced at how he could do this. "I—"

"Thanks, man," Ron said as he shoved Harry towards Ginny. He felt his legs direct him toward her as his mind screamed at him not to do it, to leave her alone; if she wanted to talk she'd have tried to get him alone before… but before he knew it he was right beside her and she was looking up at him.

"Yes?" she said quietly.

"Er, can I, er, talk to you? Alone?" he said nervously. She exchanged a look with Hermione before standing up and looking at him.

"Sure."

As he headed toward another tree he looked behind him to see if Ginny was still following him, he stopped promptly at what he saw, making Ginny walk into him. "What was—" she started to say, but Harry shushed her and pointed toward a wall of Ron's house. A boy was leaned up against it, kissing a girl whose wild, bright-blonde hair and crazy outfit Harry would recognize anywhere. Ginny's mouth dropped.

"Neville… and Luna?!" she whispered into his ear in amazement and for a moment Harry forgot where he was, just that she was next to him. But he snapped back into reality.

"Let's not bother them…" he whispered in an equally disbelieving voice.

As they passed their two friends quietly, they came to an extremely shady corner of the Weasley's yard.

"Listen…" he started, summing up in his head what he wanted to say. "I—er… Well, you know how in our– _my_ sixth year, I broke up with you because I didn't want you to get hurt?" He said this very quickly and quietly.

She nodded, and her brown eyes wider than usual.

"Er, well, since I— since Voldemort is dead, I was thinking that you aren't in trouble—"

Her arms were wrapped around him before he even finished the sentence. "Way ahead of you there," she whispered as she pressed her lips against his.

With Harry and Ginny… occupied, Ron took a deep breath and walked toward Hermione, who was alone now and sitting against a tree. "Hey, Hermione," he said, but she didn't (or wouldn't) respond. "Hermione, I really need to talk to you." Nothing. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up to his height. She glared at him and as she turned to try and run, Ron grabbed her right shoulder and forced her to turn around and look at him.

"Hermione! What is the matter with you? You won't talk to me, won't be around me… won't even look at me," he added, hurt, as she evaded eye contact.

As she finally looked at him, he could find nothing in her deep brown eyes. "What do you _think _is wrong, Ron?" she asked, sounding defensive.

He laughed incredulously. "I don't _know_, Hermione! Am I that bad of a kisser?"

Her expression was unreadable. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He frowned, looking down at her, worry clear on his face. "Are you serious? You're—you're joking, right?"

Hermione sighed. "Look, Ron, I—I don't know what you're on about, but can I please just go and talk with everyone else?"

His eyes widened and he tried to feel her forehead, but she shied away from his touch. "Have you been Confunded? Did someone Obliterate your memory? I'll go get Mum, she'll know—"

"No, Ron, I'm not Confunded, my memory is fine, I'm completely fine, just—"

"Then why are you pretending like yesterday never happened?!" he asked angrily.

Suddenly she looked at him with such ferocity in her eyes that he had to take a step back. "Why? I'll tell you why! Or, better yet, _Ronald_, let me ask you a few questions! Why haven't I been able to stop thinking about you since yesterday? Why have you caused me more grief in the seven years I've known you than anyone else has my entire life? Why did I do your homework for you when I knew you were going to go flitting off for Lavender? Why are you ten times better at kissing than Viktor? And why why _why_ won't you leave my head alone?" She sobbed and would have collapsed on the ground but Ron caught and steadied her. She tried to get away but he just held her tighter and stroked her hair until she was calmed down.

"Because," he whispered after a while, "if you can't get someone out of your head, then… then maybe they're supposed to be there."

She looked up at him, tears still in her eyes as she placed her arms around his neck. "Oh, Ron," she whispered as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him for the second time.


End file.
